philanthropyOz Blog

Sir James Fletcher 1914 - 2007

Sir James Fletcher and the Fletcher Trust have been members and great supporters of Philanthropy Australia’s NZ counterpart, Philanthropy New Zealand since its inception. We join Philanthropy New Zealand in extending our sincere sympathy to all the family at this time and also pay tribute to the philanthropy of the Fletcher family over many years.

Find out more about Sir James Fletcher below:

Sir James Fletcher dies
NZPA | Thursday, 30 August 2007
END OF AN ERA: Sir James Fletcher has died at the age of 92.
Sir James Fletcher, the second generation son of the Fletcher dynasty, has died in Auckland. He was 92.
His family said today he died peacefully at home yesterday.

City Gallery pays tribute to Sir James Fletcher
Thursday, 30 August 2007, 2:37 pm
Press Release: City Gallery Wellington
City Gallery Wellington pays tribute to a great arts patron
Sir James Fletcher 1914 - 2007

Two stalwarts of NZ business die
Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:28p.m.
Sir James Fletcher
Two of New Zealand’s most prominent former businessmen have died.

Sir James Fletcher dies
Posted at 1:19pm on 30 Aug 2007
The former head of Fletcher Challenge Sir James Fletcher has died at his home in Auckland, aged 92 years.

Grant to tackle smoking rates among Aboriginal communities in NSW

TACKLING SMOKING RATES AMONG ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES IN NEW SOUTH WALES
Australian Respiratory Council grants $490,000 to the Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council to undertake important research project

Australia is considered to be a leader among developed nations around the world in the area of tobacco control and yet tobacco is the main cause of preventable death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Over 50% of Aboriginal people aged 13 and over smoke compared with 21% of the general population nationally. While smoking rates have decreased for the total Australian population over the last 10 years, there has been a very limited investment in Aboriginal tobacco control and smoking cessation activities, and no significant change in smoking rates for Aboriginal people, in this period.

The Australian Respiratory Council (ARC) is committed to contributing to improved respiratory health outcomes for Aboriginal people and is delighted to have provided The Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council of New South Wales (AH&MRC) with funding to support a much needed two year project to develop a smoking cessation program based at Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in NSW. “ARC received a large number of applications in response to a request for expressions of interest. The AH&MRC’s application was outstanding and we look forward to supporting a project that will contribute to a reduction of tobacco related respiratory sickness and death while utilising innovative and culturally appropriate mechanisms to promote and sustain the quit smoking messages within Aboriginal communities” said Bruce Ramage, ARC Executive Officer.

According to Sandra Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of the AH&MRC, “this project will trial the impact of employing and supporting specialist Tobacco Control Workers within Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, to implement innovative community-based approaches to tobacco control and smoking cessation in Aboriginal Communities in NSW. Importantly, while aiming to reduce smoking rates and smoking related disease in Aboriginal communities, the project will also add to the evidence-base relating to Aboriginal tobacco control nationally and internationally”. The project will be implemented by the AH&MRC in partnership with 12 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, the NSW Department of Health, the National Heart Foundation, the Sax Institute and the Cancer Council of NSW.

The project will be launched at ARC’s offices in Sydney on 29 August 2007.

Contact:
Renee Martin – ARC – (02) 9223 3199
Jenny Hunt – AH&MRC – (02) 9212 4777

For more info, visit www.thearc.org.au or www.ahmrc.org.au.

NT Library wins US$1 Million Gates Foundation award

The Northern Territory Library has won the annual Access to Learning Award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its work to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. The US$1 Million award recognizes innovative efforts outside the United States to connect disadvantaged people and remote communities to information through free access to computers and the Internet.

The Northern Territory Library (NTL), which covers a network of 33 public libraries, many of them in remote communities, is offering free training and access to computers and the Internet. These skills and tools are providing indigenous people with a new way to connect to the past—and to engage in the present. In 2004, the NTL launched a new program that has transformed 13 branch libraries into vibrant community centres for sharing knowledge. Through this model, known as the Libraries and Knowledge Centers program, NTL has trained and equipped local library staff to help indigenous people build digital archives of their culture. With cameras and computers, voice and video recorders, and scanners and printers, community members capture old and contemporary art, maps, songs, photos, and lessons in their local language. They film events and record interviews and traditional practices. Then they store the digital content with user-friendly software called Our Story.

Communities have embraced Our Story, collecting more than 40,000 items since 2004. NTL will use the US$1 million Access to Learning Award to take Our Story into more communities and to train more community library staff. It also will expand its early years literacy program for indigenous children, to better prepare them for success in school. Other plans include sharing appropriate cultural material from Our Story with a wider Australian audience.

Gina Anderson on ABC Radio’s PM

Philanthropy Australia’s CEO, Gina Anderson, will appear on ABC Radio’s PM this evening (Tuesday, August 28). Go to the PM website for frequencies & downloadable podcasts.

Professionalism in Philanthropy - Workshops for Grantmakers

Philanthropy Australia will be running a new series of workshops for grantmakers this year, entitled Professionalism in Philanthropy

The first modules of the Professionalism in Philanthropy workshop series are scheduled for October and November, 2007. These three-hour modules are useful for both beginners to the world of making grants, and for intermediate-level practitioners who would like to hone their skills and discover tips, tricks and ideas for best practice.

Module 1: The Art of Assessing Applications is scheduled as follows:

• Melbourne: 9.00am – 12.00pm, Wednesday 24 October, 2007
• Sydney: 9.00am – 12.00pm, Wednesday 14 November, 2007

Module 2: Communicating - What, Why and With Who? is scheduled as follows:

• Melbourne: 9.00am – 12.00pm, Wednesday 31 October, 2007
• Sydney: 9.00am – 12.00pm, Thursday 15 November, 2007

Each module can be taken individually. Participants who complete both modules will receive a Certificate of Completion. The cost per module is $150 for Full and Associate Members of Philanthropy Australia or $300 for non-members.

Go to our Workshops page to download a full program & booking form.

Announcement: Philanthropy Australia’s KnowledgeBank

Over the past few years, Philanthropy Australia has been developing a model to bring together our information services to make them as extensive and accessible as possible.

Throughout this process, we have come to understand the immense value of making use of the information technology at hand. The resulting model is what we have called our “KnowledgeBank”.

The KnowledgeBank will be an extensive and user-friendly information service, created and maintained by Philanthropy Australia and made accessible to our Members, the nonprofit community and the general public through the internet.

It will expand the community sector’s knowledge base on philanthropy, promote and facilitate understanding and partnerships between funders and grantseekers, and provide a user-friendly and accessible ‘first port of call’ for anyone seeking information on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.

The KnowledgeBank project has been most generously supported by Macquarie Bank Foundation, which has enabled us to take a holistic and inclusive approach to our knowledge management and information management across the board.

The KnowledgeBank encompasses several components of Philanthropy Australia’s online information services:

• KnowledgeBank Search
• Philanthropy Australia Website
• Philanthropy Australia Library Catalogue
• PhilanthropyWiki
• The Australian Directory of Philanthropy Online
• Philanthropic Grants Database
• Projects in the Pipeline Database

These components are in various stages of development, refinement and completion. We’ve set up a page on our Website where you can find out more about each of these components, as well as keep track of our progress on the KnowledgeBank project.

Home Ownership and Indigenous Australians; paper and consultations

ANZ has released a discussion paper with the objective of providing a framework for discussion about what ANZ might do to assist in improving the level of home ownership by Indigenous Australians. The paper is available on the ANZ website for download in PDF format – www.anz.com/Documents/AU/values/AN5324HMIAV13online.pdf - and comment has been invited until 30 September on the issues raised in the paper. The paper states that, “In Australia, 71 per cent of the population live in a home that is owned by themselves or a family member. This level is marginally above other developed economies”. But, in Australia, home ownership by Indigenous people is low – just 28 per cent (ABS, 2002). This is also low compared with home ownership by indigenous peoples in the United States (59 per cent), Canada (41 per cent) and New Zealand (50 per cent).

ANZ research has identified that Indigenous Australians are the predominant group of people consistently associated with financial exclusion (Chant Link, 2004). Specifically, this financial exclusion is represented by: poor access to fair, safe and appropriate financial products and services; low understanding of financial matters; and greater likelihood of experiencing financial difficulty.

When members of our society are excluded from accessing appropriate financial services – as a result of a combination of social, economic, behavioural and structural factors – it would seem likely that the market is under-served and individual aspirations not met. There also exists a strong relationship between financial exclusion and other elements of social exclusion, including health, education, employment and broader economic exclusion (Chant Link, 2004).

ANZ has also recently announced that it will be conducting a series of workshops around the country to seek views of interested parties on the paper and on how it can assist in improving the level of home ownership by Indigenous Australians. All workshops will commence at 1:30 pm and run for approximately two hours on the following dates

* Melbourne: 4 September 2007
* Adelaide: 6 September 2007
* Canberra: 24 September 2007
* Brisbane: 2 October 2007
* Sydney: 4 October 2007
* Darwin: 9 October 2007
* Perth: 17 October 2007

Members wishing to participate in one of these workshops or otherwise provide feedback on the paper should contact Adam Mooney, ANZ’s Head of Community Development Finance at adam.mooney@anz.com or on 03 9273 4350.

Event: Launch 2008 Sydney Leadership Program (NSW)

Launch 2008 Sydney Leadership Program (NSW)
22 August 07

Now in its tenth year, The Sydney Leadership Program is building an enviable reputation as a forum for both social leadership development and extensive network building, promoting cooperation between senior government, not for profit and corporate leaders. Our unique leadership approach offers an intensive learning experience for people from all sectors wanting to make a real impact on key social issues.

For more information, go to our Events Calendar.

Watermark

After 5 years of research, community dialogue and scientific input, the Watermark Australia Project has published its pioneering work Our water mark: Australians making a difference in water reform.

Our water mark creates the ‘big picture’, establishes a national goal for all of us to strive toward, identifies a set of guiding principles and outlines, in detail, the various ways we can all live within our ‘water means’ – in this the driest inhabited continent on earth. There is a wealth of detail about the current state of our water resources, presenting an informed and knowledge-rich framework for thinking about, and acting upon, water issues.

The Victorian Women’s Trust launched Our water mark on 11th July 2007, and generous private donor support has enabled it to be provided free of charge. In Melbourne copies can be picked up from the Victorian Women’s Trust office and also from Readings Bookstores in Carlton and Hawthorn. Copies can be mailed to you, with postage and handling costs only, by contacting the Trust. They can also be collected from a number of organizations throughout Victoria.

Event: Age-friendly communities? Philanthropy’s role

Age-friendly communities? Philanthropy’s role
Wednesday, 12 September 2007

The next two decades will see unprecedented changes in community structures and activities. As Baby Boomers leave the labour market the proportion of retirees active in civic, social and leisure activities will rise dramatically. Mobility patterns will become more diverse. Labour market shortages will occur.

What opportunities and challenges will this present for community strengthening initiatives? How may philanthropy best position itself to take advantage of these new social conditions?

Funders are invited to engage with expert panel members as we explore the most effective ways for philanthropy to aid the creation of age-friendly communities.

This seminar is being supported by the JO & JR Wicking Trust

Click here to go to the Events Calendar, where you can download the flyer & registration form for this event.